OPEC Oil Output Falls For First Time In 7 Months: Report

Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries marked its first monthly decline in seven months, according to a recent survey from S&P Global Platts. Output from the group's 13 members fell by 280,000 barrels a day in December from a month earlier, to 32.85 million barrels a day. Including Indonesia, whose membership was suspended at a meeting in December. Output fell to 33.57 million barrels a day. The survey showed that the declines were due to "hefty falls" in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, "a month before the group's pledge to rein in production." February West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at $52.50 a barrel, up $1.68, or 3.3%, just ahead of the settlement on the New York Mercantile Exchange.